Tucson, AZ –
Sixteen national and regional groups joined forces to oppose the U.S. Border
Patrol’s push for unprecedented levels of access to federally protected public
lands, including Wilderness areas, National Wildlife Refuges and National
Monuments.

In a letter to Mr. Asa Hutchinson, Under Secretary
for Border and Transportation Security in the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, the group states that the U.S. Border Patrol has made requests that
will alter millions of acres of federally protected land without notifying the
public about it and without the environmental analyses that are required under
law.

"The Border Patrol’s blanket requests for unlimited
motorized access to protected parks, monuments, and wilderness areas are being
made behind closed doors without any opportunity for public involvement," stated
Jamie Rappaport Clark, Executive Vice President for Defenders of Wildlife.
"While we recognize the critical importance of the Border Patrol’s mission and
are committed to cooperating with this agency, this secretive push for
unfettered access is a recipe for future conflict."

"Our nation's public lands are a valued resource for
all world citizens. It is the United States' responsibility to preserve the
integrity of these lands," said Sonja Macys, Executive Director of Tucson
Audubon Society. "Many of our border parks and protected areas provide migratory
corridors for birds and other wildlife - animals that don't respect geopolitical
boundaries. If we are to maintain the integrity and diversity of these lands, we
must work together to find a meaningful solution to the situation along the
border."

The presence of hundreds of Border Patrol agents,
their use of off-road vehicles and helicopters, and extensive construction of
camps, prisons, and other infrastructure has played a major role in the extent
of environmental damage to public lands. Vast and formerly pristine areas within
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
are now saturated with new roads, trampled soils and vegetation, and abandoned
vehicles and human belongings.

"These border enforcement policies,
designed to seal urban crossing areas, force migrants into the harsh terrain of
the desert, and succeed only in shifting migration patterns," said José Matus,
Director of Coalición de Derechos Humanos/Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras. "From
October 1, 2003 to August 3, 2004, more than 175 migrants have died in Arizona
alone. These proposed measures will only continue the existing human rights and
environmental crisis."

"The unfortunate truth is that the magnificent,
ecologically critical, and economically important borderlands of Arizona—and the
many imperiled species which depend upon them—are potentially being damaged
beyond repair, the group stated in its letter. "While we respect the complex and
dangerous mission with which the Border Patrol is entrusted, we vigorously
oppose the current push for unrestricted motorized access within National
Monuments, Forests, Wildlife Refuges and Wilderness areas."

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Defenders of Wildlife is one of the nation's most
progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat, and was named as one of
America's Top 100 Charities by Worth magazine. With more than 480,000 members
and supporters, Defenders is an effective voice for wildlife and habitat. To
learn more about Defenders of Wildlife, please visit www.defenders.org.